Monday, January 30, 2012

I picked up these fabric swatches this past Friday for the new shop. I am going to be making pillows...and lots of them! I'm so excited. Justin and I are working on getting lots of fresh designs out. He has been great with helping me and a really big encouragement.

Friday I felt like I accomplished lots. I have been doing lots of price shopping for items in bulk. Zippers, fabric, etc. I actually made my mind up...which takes me a while...and ordered some pillow forms to see if they are what I'm going to go with. I also did some research to see what I needed to do in terms of legally making my name my own. I bought my domain name and filled out a fictitious name form for the State of Missouri. I learned that if you have a business under any name under than your own name, you have to do that...in case any of you are looking to start a business=)

I'm learning lots and have LOTS to learn...but I'm getting excited to start building up inventory!

Sunday, January 29, 2012

My tacks came in the mail Saturday! I wasn't expecting them until Monday so I was really excited! Justin helped me hammer them in, which didn't take long at all and we were finished in no time! It really was a pretty quick and easy project for such a big change!

I put a flat surface up against the outside edge of the headboard so that I had a guideline to go by when measuring how far in to make the tack line. I just measured three inches all the way around and made a mark with a pencil so I could keep the line straight. It was a bit hard to keep it exact...plus, I'm NOT a perfectionist, so you will probably do better=)

Here's the fabric I chose and us hammering in the tacks with our make-shift "rubber mallet." Just a few rubber bands and an old rag. ( ours had a hole in it by the end...so make sure you don't care if it gets ruined)

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

My Mom gave my a plaque this past Christmas that said I was entitled to her unlimited time of service to the project of my choice...BEST GIFT EVER! She came over Monday and we went to work. Justin and I built the headboard frame over the weekend so it was ready to go.

The dimensions we used for our Queen Bed are:

5 ft. 4 wide, 3 ft. tall and 3 inches on each side. If you know the dimensions when you go in to lowes for the main piece, they will cut it for you! It saves lots of time.

First things First: Spray the foam to the wood with a spray adhesive so it won't slide around on you. We kinda forgot this step and had to open the foam up as much as we could and spray the glue down in the already stapled batting...NOT FUN. So...spray it first!...it really helps.

Sunday, January 22, 2012

Hey! I've been away for a while busy with some projects. I know I've been saying that I want to have my own shop...I'm tired of just thinking about it and not doing it. WELL...I'm doing it! I have LOTS to learn and lots to make. Justin has been such a great support and has encouraged me to go for it. We are working on ideas and I can't even tell you how excited I am.

He is such an amazing graphic designer. He is helping me with my business plan, graphic ideas, website layout, etc. He pushes me.

Everything is in the very beginning stages at this point. I'm doing lots of research, pricing and fabric hunting. YES...more fabric.

This is just the beginning of all my messes of paperwork. I am working on being organized though! Trying really hard! I even bought files for out filing cabinet. Yes...I did.

I can't wait to share more with you. It's not going to happen right away...(like I wish it could) Everything takes more time and effort than you think... but you're welcome to hang in there with me through the journey! I'm really excited!

Oh, and we are working on doing a little room makeover. We got wood this weekend to work on a headboard. I'll share progress soon!

Monday, January 9, 2012

Good Monday to you! I've been a little slow with the posts lately. A year ago, Justin challenged me that if I was going to blog, I should commit to it. I should post every day and give it my all. I didn't really know what that would look like or where it would lead.

My year is up and I'm trying to figure out where I want it to go from here. I don't want to be blogging just to blog. I want a purpose behind it. I want to be making a difference. I want to help people. I want to be able to use the gifts God has given me and share them....my problem is that I still don't know what that looks like. I never wanted to get too personal with my blog. I've never been a fan of putting our lives online for all to see...but it's hard not to sometimes. So, if I'm a little off and on for the next bit...I'm just figuring some things out.

ON another note...

I wanted to share this DIY with you. Have you seen these mustache pillowcases on urban outfitters?

WELL you can make them for approx. $8 (includes: pillowcases from Wal-Mart, 1/2 yard of fabric and the stitch witchery!)

Wednesday, January 4, 2012

Here's what the kitchen looks like now with the tile down! I'm so excited. The grout isn't in yet in these pics, but we just finished up the last of it today. We're letting it dry and will get it all cleaned up tomorrow. Then I get to move the washer and dryer out of the dining room and the fridge out of the living room! YAY!

Tuesday, January 3, 2012

Here's what it looks like with all the backer board down in the kitchen! I'm so excited. Our house is a MESS right now though! The fridge and island are in the living room, and the washer and dryer are in the dining room. There is dust all over our house too! I can't wait to get it all cleaned up.

Monday, January 2, 2012

Hello all! It's been a whole week since I've checked in. We've been so busy this Christmas break with family events, home projects, and traveling. I'm so thankful for the time we had with family and friends. The week off felt super short and super long all at the same time. When I think of all we did it's kinda crazy!

Our biggest project was starting on our kitchen tile. I always have a really hopeful outlook on big projects like this one. I think, "Oh, we'll just put in the whole kitchen/laundry/bathroom tile in a couple days...no biggie"... little do I know. Thanks to my dad, we were actually ready to lay tile down the day we were planning on starting the whole project.

I was unaware of ALL the time it takes to prepare the area. Here are just a few things we had to do BEFORE we were able to lay down tile:

1. Cut the trim boards around the doors so the backer board and tile will fit under all of them.
2. Take off and number all base boards.
3. Lay down backer board.
4. Put about 40 screws in EACH piece of backer board...ya that leaves a nice callus.
5. Unhook Washer, Dryer, Fridge
6. Take out toilet and sink in bathroom (which lead to going under the house to shut off the main water to the house, since the toilet was leaking...then going to Lowes to get more parts to fix the toilet.)
*oh, and scraping off the nasty toilet sealant that's stuck on the floor when you move the toilet...ya, not fun! I had no idea what was under those!

Keep in mind...this is ALL PREP WORK! Thank you Dad for helping us so much with this part!